Cancer is a broad group of diseases that are characterized by an uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. These cancerous cells are caused from a malfunction in the genes that control cell growth and division; this malfunction can be caused by both internal and external factors. According to the American Cancer Society one out of every 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and will cause 1 out of every 4 deaths in the United States. The survival rate of those diagnosed has increased in recent years, in large part due to new chemotherapeutic agents. Cisplatin and Carboplatin are chemotherapeutic agents that have been widely used over the past 45 years to treat a large variety of cancers. These drugs are far from ideal because of their toxic side effects and the ability of cancers to develop resistance to them. There is a need to find new anticancer drugs that that less toxic is highly desirous.
Another leading cause of human disease and mortality is microbial infection. Of particular concern are infections caused by microbes which have developed resistance to current antibiotics. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, bacterial resistance to both single and multiple antibiotics are on the rise. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that almost all major bacterial infections in the world are becoming resistant to the antibiotics used to treat them. This is a major health issue which is felt both economically and physically. Infection with resistant microbes such as bacteria can translate into more frequent doctor visits, longer illness and recovery times, more aggressive treatment regimes, and increased mortality rates. For example, penicillin, which was the first antibiotic, was introduced in the late 1940's, and only a few years later, penicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacterial infections surfaced. The penicillin derivative methicillin was created to combat this resistance; however it too has lost its effectiveness against some strains of S. aureus, now known as methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA). MRSA infections are now being treated with stronger antibiotics such as Vancomycin, an antibiotic which carries a risk of toxic side effects. Even now Vancomycin resistant S. aureus strains have begun to be reported.
Accordingly, it is clear that a need exists to develop new classes of antibiotics that may help to circumvent the resistance of some microbes to conventional therapies. There is also a need for drugs that are less toxic but still effective in the treatment of cancer.
Heretofore, attempts have been made to provide new anti-cancer compositions. For example, WO 2009/096905 has disclosed the use of imidazolium and certain imidazolium compounds for the treatment of cancer. However, these compounds do not include halogens, and therefore, have been found to be less effective against cancer cells than those compositions that include one or more halogens. Furthermore, multi-cationic azolium and purinium salt compositions have been found to further improve the effectiveness against cancer cells and against bacterial and fungal infections than the mono-cationic compositions disclosed therein.
Thus, the need exists for azolium and perineum salt compositions that are as good as or better than anti-cancer drugs or antimicrobial drugs currently on the market.